


Gifts

by Elizabeth Culmer (edenfalling)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Character Study, F/M, Family Dynamics, Gen, Mother-Daughter Relationship, POV First Person, Parent-Child Relationship, Parenthood, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-12-08
Updated: 2005-12-08
Packaged: 2018-02-22 03:28:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2492780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/edenfalling/pseuds/Elizabeth%20Culmer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hermione was not an easy child to love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gifts

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is a failed attempt at filling my [hhr_serendipity](http://hhr_serendipity.livejournal.com) prompt: _The Granger family reunion_. I say 'failed' not because I dislike it, but because it doesn't fit the prompt. It's quite unobjectionable on its own merits. *wry*

Hermione was not an easy child to raise.

Oh, she was a joy, don't misunderstand me! But she was always fiercely intelligent and desperate to have her world under control, and that combination made for a girl with deep insecurities, who nevertheless refused any overt offers of help or empathy. She couldn't afford to seem weak, you see, or people would realize that much of her control was an illusion.

In retrospect, I blame myself and William to some extent. We hadn't intended to have a child for another few years, until our practice was better established, and there was... strain, I suppose, would be the kindest way to put it. We argued rather a lot -- politely, of course, never yelling or resorting to physical violence -- but Hermione picked up on the tension. She took to showing off the slightest accomplishment, saying "Look at me, look at me!" all the time, and naturally William and I set aside our quarrels for a moment to exclaim over her.

She learned, I think, that the center of attention is sometimes the safest place to be. She isn't a natural extrovert, but she's a talented performer; she chose the role of child prodigy, the girl with all the answers, and she plays it to the hilt.

What I liked best about her first young man, Ron Weasley, was that he drove her to such distraction that she broke her role. She fumed. She swore. She made an utter fool of herself, to hear her tell the story. She acted, in short, like the teenage girl she was at the time. But love that burns hot often burns fast, and less than a year after they left school, Hermione and Ron parted ways.

She ran through a succession of minor flings after that -- none serious enough to introduce to me and William -- before she settled into a period of concentration on her work. It still surprises me that she dove straight into a career instead of seeking an apprenticeship in one of the more esoteric or scholarly branches of her world, but then, Hermione did inherent William's intensely _practical_ streak. She saw a place where she could do useful work, and she charged forward.

And then, last year, she brought her friend Harry Potter home for supper.

Naturally I'd met Harry before -- like Ron, he was one of Hermione's closest friends, and heavily involved in the war she still refuses to tell us much about -- but this time Hermione stood pressed against his side, and their hands were twined together. And Hermione wasn't tense. She wasn't onstage, screaming "Look at me!" She wasn't watching him or us for subtle cues.

It was like... like... To be honest, I can't think of a good comparison. Like having the nurse lay a wet, wrinkled, squalling baby on my breast. Like seeing the dawn of comprehension when she learned her first word, finally realizing that _this_ sound meant _that_ object. Like watching her walk through a solid wall at age eleven and vanish into a new world. Like opening my hands and letting her fly free.

The tragedy of children is that they grow. They take you for granted, they argue, they reject your advice, they turn their backs, and they leave. The glory is that sometimes they come home and you can see what they built from your gifts.

I think Hermione and Harry may discover that themselves, someday.

I wish them joy in the learning.


End file.
